Missouri debt: usually five years, and a 10% wage cap for families
Missouri has two time limits for debt, five years and ten, and collectors sometimes claim the longer one for credit cards when the shorter one usually applies. If you support a family in Missouri, a judgment can take only 10% of your pay.
Free check first. If a dispute letter makes sense, it costs $29 ($19 for military, veterans, seniors and people with disabilities) with three follow-ups.
Who is asking you to pay?
Look at the company name at the top of the letter or in the caller ID.
Missouri at a glance
- Contracts, open accounts
- 5 years (516.120)
- Written promise to pay money
- 10 years (516.110)
- Credit cards
- Usually five years
- Restarting the clock
- Partial payment or written acknowledgment
- Wage garnishment
- 25%, or 10% for a head of family
- Judgments
- 10 years, restarted by each garnishment payment
General information about Missouri law, with sources below. Not legal advice.
Five years or ten in Missouri
Five years for contracts and open accounts (RSMo 516.120), and ten years for a written promise to pay money (RSMo 516.110).
Credit card accounts usually fall under the five-year rule, because there is normally no single written promise to pay a set sum; creditors and some debt buyers sometimes argue for ten. If a collector says it has ten years on a card, ask for the written promise to pay that it relies on.
A partial payment or a written acknowledgment can restart the clock.
Wage garnishment in Missouri
A garnishment can take no more than 25% of disposable weekly earnings, or 10% for a head of family living in Missouri, or the amount above 30 times the federal minimum wage, whichever is least (RSMo 525.030). Tell your employer and the court if you are a head of family, because the lower rate is not applied automatically.
Missouri law forbids firing an employee because of one garnishment. A judgment lasts ten years, and each payment collected through garnishment restarts the ten-year period, so a judgment that is being paid down can last a long time. Missouri protects a homestead worth up to $15,000 (RSMo 513.475).
Missouri's protections sit on top of federal law; our page on stopping a wage garnishment explains both.
Whether a payment would restart the 5-year limit is covered, state by state, in our page on time-barred debt.
Limits vary a lot between states: by comparison, New York sets 3 years and Utah sets 4 years for similar debts.
Sued in Missouri? Do not miss the deadline: read how to get a debt lawsuit dismissed before you respond.
If a collector writes to you in Missouri
A written dispute inside the validation period makes the collector stop until it mails verification. The check on this page starts with Missouri already selected.
To make a collector prove a debt in Missouri, send a debt validation letter within the dispute window.
National collectors active in Missouri include Transworld Systems and TrueAccord; our guides list their official dispute addresses.
Questions people ask about debt in Missouri
What is the statute of limitations on credit card debt in Missouri?
Usually five years under RSMo 516.120, because a card rarely involves a single written promise to pay a set sum.
When is it ten years in Missouri?
For an action on a written promise to pay money, such as a promissory note, under RSMo 516.110.
How much can be garnished if I support a family in Missouri?
For a head of family living in Missouri, no more than 10% of disposable weekly earnings, under RSMo 525.030.
Can I be fired for a wage garnishment in Missouri?
Missouri law forbids firing an employee because of one garnishment.
How long does a judgment last in Missouri?
Ten years, and each payment collected by garnishment restarts that period.